A new mind game for coach Sreejesh

The Olympics star says he has had to change his 'imagination as a player' in his new role

- Arun Janardhan

When P.R. Sreejesh announced his retirement after India won its (and his) second consecutive bronze medal in hockey at the Olympics in Paris in August, he had visualised what life off field would be like.

While he was considering coaching as a long-term option, he wanted to take a break after over two decades of playing hockey, starting with the junior Indian team. He thought he would join office, as a joint director in the Kerala government's department of general and higher education, and work as a "normal employee" while spending quality time with his family.

"That never happened," he says smiling over a video chat from Bengaluru. "All advice I received was that if I was away from the system, lots of changes would happen. So, it's good to jump in now."

The former India goalkeeper, known to throw himself at everything that came his way in the goalpost, moved from Kerala to Bengaluru with his family to coach the junior Indian hockey team. In his first assignment, the junior team won a bronze medal at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia in October.

In October, he was also appointed director of hockey for the Delhi-based franchise, SG Pipers owned by SG Sports-Media-Entertainment (SGSE), of the reinstated Hockey India league that begins on 28 December.

The 36-year-old is yet working towards his role as a coach, taking "baby steps" at building a base for a sustainable future. "There are definitely mental challenges, for a coach should think differently from a player. My imagination as a player is not going to suit this. I have had to tell myself thousands of times that I am not a player anymore but a coach," he says.